recipes from organic local produce in our farm shops

At the Farm Shop we don’t treat cooking as a precise science, nor are we trying to give a comprehensive list of recipes. These are some of our favourite dishes and we hope you’ll give some of them a try. They’ve worked for us on countless occasions but that doesn’t mean, with a bit of imagination and a few tweaks, they can’t be improved. Good luck.

Traditionally served with tafelspitz (an Austrian 'boiled' beef dish much favoured by the Emperor Franz Joseph) this apple and horseradish sauce adds a kick to any meal. It can be adapted to suit your tastes, so whether you like it hot or a little more on the mild side, it's a must.

Puerco de la Costa with PineappleBy Ben WatsonIn Mexico there are whole genres of pork and pineapple recipes that come under the rather broad name of puerco de la costa (which translates as 'pork in the costal style). This is one of mine from a few years back, that came to mind again after our shops started stocking some particularly good fresh organic pineapples. If you want something a bit more 'bulked out' you can add lentils - just pop them in alongside the sweet potato. Or serve with rice as we've done here. Alternatively, if you cook off a little more of the liquid, this makes a fantastic filling for tacos or tortillas.

Montbelliard Sausage and Lentil casseroleBy Ben WatsonThis dish is a welcome addition on a cold day - a classic lentil and smoked sausage casserole. The perfect bowl of braised lentils is a special thing and, for me, this is as close as it gets...

Cordero Verde – Spiced Lamb CasseroleBy Ben Watson

Citrus and spice flavours make this one pot Spanish 'olla' perfect for seeing off the Autumn blues. In fact, the flavourings aren't all that different from those they would have used with mutton back in the day. Go large and make it last for a few days. Serves 8.

Sausages with fennel, borlotti beans and polentaBy Ben WatsonCognoscenti might recognise this as one of Nigel Slater's midweek suppers from The Observer magazine but the polenta and borlotti beans are my addition. It's equally good with soft/wet or firm polenta - timing is easier with the firm so I've done that.Serves 4.

Pesto alla Poly TunnelBy Ben WatsonLike many, I think I might have overdone it a bit on the tomato planting in the poly tunnel yet again this year, so any way of preserving them in their semi fresh state is to be jumped at. My basil is also entering its 'use it or lose it' stage so when Rachel Roddy started eulogizing about the about pesto alla trapanese in the Guardian a few weeks ago when I was on the verge of binning bucket loads of its two main ingredients, I sat up and took notice. The third ingredient, almonds are far cheaper than pine nuts, but I still couldn't resist substituting a part ration of sunflower seeds. That seemed to work, leaving the possibility of swapping olive oil for rapeseed oil, for a true Pesto alla Brexit. Rightly or wrongly, I've always been a bit wary of the neonicotinoid/rapeseed connection so tend to avoid it, but I'm sure it would work.A brief online search revealed that the Pesto Trapanese recipe is about as loose as they come - the main areas of divergence being the amount of garlic and whether or not to add a pecorino type cheese. I quickly decided that the cheese was best left until the end but the garlic was more difficult. Rachel Roddy's 1-3 cloves seemed more reasonable than others' 6-10 but whilst the latter puts me in quarantine for a week the former was a bit insipid. Tempering the full amount by lightly roasting might seem cowardly but it bought about benefits in terms of body, depth and untuosity (good word).I imagine it would be good with pasta but it never gets further than a piece of toast in my house - maybe with a slice or two of griddled courgette - I have an abundance of those too.

Green Eggs Over LentilsBy Ben WatsonThe best things are often afterthoughts and this was just that. I was tweaking Nigel Slater's 'hangover' beef salad and I ran out of beef. I thought the eggs, lentils and Mojo Verde worked a treat together. As you might have noticed, Mojo Verde seems to have sneaked its way into a lot of my suggestions. As I've said, it's become a sort of green ketchup chez Benz!

Rare Roast Beef and Lentil SaladBy Ben WatsonRare roast beef and lentils are a great basis for any salad but what really gives this it's oomph is the addition of a few roast vegetables and our Mojo Verde. Adding the beef juices into the dressing will take it to the next level.

Perfect Beef FajitasBy Ben WatsonWe've started making our own fajita rub but adding a bit of lime and pineapple juice definitely raises these fajitas to another level. Pineapple is a well known tenderiser but over an extended period the juice of that and the lime will end up pickling and eventually drying out the meat. I'd suggest adding them an hour or so before cooking.

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